Investigating the barriers and enablers in attracting and retaining suitably qualified professionals to specialist teaching and non-teaching roles in Queensland Schools

The report identifies some of the particular challenges facing the recruitment and retention of teachers into the more rural and remote areas of Queensland. These challenges include the ageing teacher workforce, significant salary competition from other industry sectors, current teacher salary scales and competitive salary rates, the cost of becoming a Science, Mathematics, Technology or Special education teacher, and the cost of professional development associated with curriculum changes. Currently the students and teachers consider job security, balance between work and home, personal fulfilment, helping people, cost and length of training, career pathway in teaching and collaborative processes within the schools as the most important variables in choosing teaching career. In attracting more people to teaching as a career in Queensland, the research indicates six significant career and teaching specific attributes that need to be considered as part of any promotion or recruitment initiatives and these are; reduced education fees, guarantee of permanency after two years of satisfactory service, increased understanding of career paths, promotion of the teaching career websites, better networking with university career advisor and highlighting teaching lifestyle. Future research into recruitment strategies for the Queensland education workforce could benefit from an allied industry study. This study should include consideration of the impacts of the current and proposed recruitment strategies on allied professions that have potential cross over skill sets required by the education sector in Queensland.